Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993 TAG: 9309280053
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
Without hot water, electricity and telephones and with hundreds of flak-jacketed riot police surrounding them, the rebels were suffering defections from their ranks and a dwindling of public supporters outside the building.
Speaking confidently on national TV, Yeltsin rejected proposals for simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections as a way to end the standoff that began when he dissolved parliament last week.
He insisted on sticking to his plan for a parliamentary election in December, with presidential balloting six months later. He said compromise was "doubly dangerous" and could lead to conflict.
"No. I am not making such compromises with any organs any more. I am categorically against it," Yeltsin said in a TV interview from inside the Kremlin.
The lawmakers appealed to Russia's armed forces to revolt and oust Yeltsin, but the army stood firmly with the president. The crowd of anti-Yeltsin demonstrators manning the barricades outside the parliament building, or Russian White House, dwindled early Monday to about 200 people - the fewest in a week - but grew to about 2,000 by day's end.
Police kept a tight cordon around the demonstrators, first restricting and then easing access to the parliament's grounds.
In the morning, some lawmakers had a tough time re-entering parliament, in contrast to previous days. At one point, police threw one hard-liner over a barricade after he tried to break through the cordon. It was not known if he was injured.
The police pressure took its toll on the jittery lawmakers, many of whom have slept little in recent nights.
Although Yeltsin repeatedly has said the building would not be stormed, parliament Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov claimed the building's defenders had prevented an attack early Monday.
"It is possible that another attempt will be made tonight," he told the lawmakers.
Some worried legislators bolted the hard-line cause and accepted job offers from Yeltsin.
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by CNB